Recent News: GE Rail Services Unit, NBC Super Bowl Ads, Consumer Loans, GE Healthcare & Merck, GE Aviation, GE Japan, and Boeing 737-900

GE seeking buyer for its rail services unit: report
General Electric is seeking a buyer for its rail services unit, in a deal that could be worth about $4 billion, according to people familiar with the company, The Financial Times reported on its Web site Friday. The move to sell the unit is part of GE's attempts to reduce its exposure to low-margin businesses after reporting disappointing first-quarter results last month, according to the newspaper. The unit leases 165,000 railroad cars and 120,000 trailers and containers. GE declined to comment on Friday night, the FT said...

NBC Super Bowl Ads to Cost $3 Million
The Super Bowl has always been a tough ticket, but now NBC is telling advertisers it will cost them $3 million just to get into the game -- for 30 seconds. NBC Universal, a unit of General Electric Co., plans to announce next week that $3 million will be the entry price for a commercial at the 2009 Super Bowl. While individual slots have sold at that level before, it's never been the starting point for negotiations for the dozens of 30-second ads sold for the game. It represents a price increase of more than 10%, roughly double the usual annual rise...

GE to drop consumer loans for boats, motorhomes
General Electric Co said on Monday it would stop offering loans for the purchase of consumer boats and motorhomes, in another blow to the hard-hit recreational products sector.
The second-largest U.S. company by market capitalization told boat and recreational-vehicle dealers that it would cease taking applications by July and cease underwriting new loans on Aug. 1, said Cristy Williams, a spokeswoman for GE Money, the company's consumer finance arm. It will continue to service its $3.6 billion loan portfolio...

GE Healthcare and Merck enter into technology sharing agreement
GE Healthcare, a provider of transformational medical technologies and services and a subsidiary of the General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), announced on Monday (5 May) that the company has entered into a non-exclusive agreement with Merck & Co Inc, a pharmaceutical company, to share technology on imaging of the lungs....

GE officials hope to work with Raspet
Officials with GE Aviation hope to continue the relationship they've developed with Mississippi State University's Raspet Flight Research Lab, an official said Monday...

Acom in Lead to Buy GE Japan Consumer Lender
General Electric will likely pick rival lender Acom as preferred bidder for its Japanese consumer loan business, paving the way for a $2.9 billion deal to create the country's biggest industry player, the Yomiuri paper said, sending Acom's shares to eight-month highs...

Boeing Delivers 737-900ERs To GE Unit For Lease To Futura
Boeing Co. (BA) said it delivered Europe's first two next-generation 737-900ER aircraft to General Electric Co. (GE) unit GE Commercial Aviation Services for lease to Futura International Airways of Spain....